Funny Women award winners announced

Winners (l-r) Carol Walsh, Harriet Braine and Carolyn Goodyear each received £2,000

The winners of this year's Funny Women awards, a launch pad for female comics since 2003, have been announced.

Harriet Braine, a 25-year-old archive assistant, won the £2,000 stage award, while self-confessed "comedy nerd" Carol Walsh won the writing prize.

Carolyn Goodyear, an actress who "fell into" writing, won the event's shorts award with her short film Ambition.

Katherine Ryan, Sara Pascoe and Sarah Millican are among the comedians to have been recognised in previous years.

Ryan beat Pascoe to be crowned winner in 2008, while Millican was a runner-up in 2005.

Other previous participants include Susan Calman and Diane Morgan, known to many as Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe.

Millican (l) and Ryan are among the previous competitors to go on to mainstream success

More than 400 hopefuls bid for this year's stage award, which involved 24 heats ahead of Wednesday's final at Koko in north London.

Each of the six finalists was paired with a celebrity comedian mentor, with Ellie Taylor doing the honours for the eventual winner.

Braine, who comes from Kingston-upon-Thames, was also a finalist in this year's So You Think You're Funny competition.

Walsh, meanwhile, won her £2,000 prize for three sample scenes from a TV comedy script called Savages.